Estate Planning and Probate Guidance for Sonoma, California

Start with the decision you need to make

If you are planning ahead, consider which decisions matter most: who should manage financial matters if you cannot, who should make health-care decisions, and how you want property handled. Wills, trusts, financial authority and health-care decisions can be coordinated as part of an estate plan.

If someone has died, the immediate question is often how the estate can be administered. Trust administration and formal probate are different paths, and which applies depends on the documents and ownership of the assets. A will or trust name alone does not answer every administration question.

Planning while you are living

A useful way to begin is to identify the decisions you want a plan to address, then consider which documents fit those decisions. A will, a revocable living trust, a pour-over will, financial power of attorney and health-care planning address different parts of that picture; they are not interchangeable or necessary in every combination.

The firm’s related planning services include wills and pour-over wills; revocable living trusts; financial powers of attorney; advance health-care directives and living wills; and health-care powers of attorney. Other topics include business succession, pet planning, and charitable, asset-protection, irrevocable, special-needs and gift-tax planning. These are areas to discuss when they match your circumstances, not a checklist every person must complete.

After a death: trust administration or probate

When a death has occurred, collect the relevant will or trust documents and information about how assets were titled. Those details help frame whether trust administration, formal probate or another question needs attention. Documents and asset ownership affect the path; the existence of a will does not by itself establish that every asset will be handled through probate.

Trust administration and probate administration are distinct service areas. The firm also addresses executor and trustee matters. What is appropriate depends on the governing documents and the assets involved, so avoid assuming that a named role or a single document settles the process.

Prepare for a remote consultation

Before meeting, gather any existing wills, trusts, powers of attorney or health-care documents you can locate. Make a simple list of major assets and note, where you know it, how each is titled or who is named on an account. These materials help organize questions about documents and ownership.

Also write down your main goal, the people you may want involved in decision-making, and questions you want answered. If you are addressing a death, note which documents you have found and what you understand about asset ownership. You do not need to resolve the legal path before asking for guidance.

Service in Sonoma

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. has one in-person office in Novato and provides virtual services throughout California, including to people in Sonoma. A consultation can help identify whether your concern is planning during life, administration after a death, or both.